Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm The Board of Trustees Dreyfus High Yield Strategies Fund We have examined managements assertion, included in the accompanying Management Statement Regarding Compliance with Certain Provisions of the Investment Company Act of 1940, that Dreyfus High Yield Strategies Fund (the Fund) complied with the requirements of subsections (b) and (c) of Rule 17f-2 under the Investment Company Act of 1940 as of April 30, 2015, and from March 31, 2015 (the date of the Funds last examination), through April 30, 2015, with respect to securities reflected in the investment accounts of the Fund. Management is responsible for the Funds compliance with those requirements. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on managements assertion about the Funds compliance based on our examination. Our examination was conducted in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) and, accordingly, included examining, on a test basis, evidence about the Funds compliance with those requirements and performing such other procedures as we considered necessary in the circumstances. Included among our procedures were the following tests performed as of April 30, 2015, and with respect to agreement of security purchases and sales, for the period from March 31, 2015 through April 30, 2015: 1. Obtained The Bank of New York Mellons (the Custodian) security position reconciliations for all securities held by sub custodians and in book entry form and verified that reconciling items were cleared in a timely manner; 2. Confirmation with the Custodian of all securities held, hypothecated, pledged or placed in escrow or out for transfer with brokers or pledgees; 3. Reconciliation of the Funds accounting records to the Custodians records as of April 30, 2015; 4. Agreement of pending purchase activity for the Fund as of April 30, 2015 to documentation of corresponding subsequent bank statements; 5. Agreement of pending sale activity for the Fund as of April 30, 2015 to documentation of corresponding subsequent bank statements; 6. Agreement of a minimum of five security purchases and five security sales from the period March 31, 2015 through April 30, 2015, from the books and records of the Fund to the bank statements noting that they had been accurately recorded and subsequently settled; 7. Review of the BNY Mellon Asset Servicing Custody and Securities Lending Services Service Organization Control Report (SOC 1 Report) for the period April 1, 2014 to March 31, 2015 and noted no relevant findings were reported in the areas of Asset Custody and Control; 8. We inquired of the Custodian who confirmed that all control policies and procedures detailed in Section III Control Objectives, Controls and Tests of Operating Effectiveness of the SOC 1 Report, have remained in operation and functioned adequately from April 1, 2015 through April 30, 2015. In addition, we have obtained written representations from the Custodian confirming the above. We believe that our examination provides a reasonable basis for our opinion. Our examination does not provide a legal determination on the Funds compliance with specified requirements. In our opinion, management's assertion that the Fund complied with the requirements of subsections (b) and (c) of Rule 17f-2 of the Investment Company Act of 1940 as of April 30, 2015, and from March 31, 2015 through April 30, 2015, with respect to securities reflected in the investment accounts of the Fund is fairly stated, in all material respects. This report is intended solely for the information and use of management and the Board of Trustees of Dreyfus High Yield Strategies Fund, and the Securities and Exchange Commission and is not intended to be and should not be used by anyone other than these specified parties. /s/ KPMG LLP New York, New York December 23, 2015 December 23, 2015 Management Statement Regarding Compliance With Certain Provisions of the Investment Company Act of 1940 Management of Dreyfus High Yield Strategies Fund (the Fund), is responsible for complying with the requirements of subsections (b) and (c) of Rule 17f- 2, Custody of Investments by Registered Management Investment Companies, of the Investment Company Act of 1940. Management is also responsible for establishing and maintaining effective internal controls over compliance with those requirements. Management has performed an evaluation of the Funds compliance with the requirements of subsections (b) and (c) of Rule 17f- 2 as of April 30, 2015 and from March 31, 2015 through April 30, 2015. Based on the evaluation, Management asserts that the Fund was in compliance with the requirements of subsections (b) and (c) of Rule 17f-2 of the Investment Company Act of 1940 as of April 30, 2015 and from March 31, 2015 through April 30, 2015 with respect to securities reflected in the investment accounts of the Fund. Dreyfus High Yield Strategies Fund Jim Windels Treasurer 2